On Monday, Provost Deborah Prentice announced that the Council of the Princeton University Community (CPUC) has dispensed with its long-standing practice of allowing the public to ask questions during its quarterly meetings. Trivial though the decision may seem, its undemocratic precedent should not be ignored.

Rumination — repetitive and obsessive thoughts — are widely considered by the field of psychology to be pathological, associated with neuroticism and anxiety. However, in a lecture on Wednesday, Sept. 25, Professor Amanda Anderson offered a different view. Drawing on the field of literary analysis, she argued that rumination can also be productive and essential for ethical thought.

A press release from the Office of Communications confirmed that the deliberations of the Faculty and Student Committee on Sexual Misconduct and the University Student Life Committee will likely be released next month.

Robert P. George, Professor of Politics, recently launched an online petition calling upon U.S. News & World Report to take “freedom of speech and viewpoint diversity” into their rankings of institutions of higher education.

On Monday, Sept. 23, hours before she was scheduled to perform at a club in Orlando, Fla., the rapper CupcakKe announced to fans that she is retiring from music in a tearful Instagram live video. Her announcement came just eight days after her performance on the University campus, where she headlined Fall Lawnparties, organized by the Undergraduate Student Government.

As I begin my sophomore year at the University, I’ve become more serious about my academic career — especially relating to major choice. Having developed a broad set of interests from the courses here, I am conflicted about what discipline I should choose — the area of study that will label and define my university education. And while I’m being a bit overdramatic about it, I am sure that this concern is not unique to myself.

In high school, I never received a single letter grade on the traditional A to F scale, and I didn’t even know my exact GPA until I began applying to colleges and had the opportunity to look at my transcript for the first time. I went to a progressive, liberal high school where grades were de-emphasized and our teachers discouraged us from focusing on raw numbers. Instead, we were told to think about our growth holistically within a subject, using growth as a measure for success rather than our test scores and essay grades. In alignment with this mentality, we received “verbal equivalents” (e.g. EXCELLENT, NEARLY EXCELLENT, VERY GOOD, etc.) instead of letter grades. Sometimes teachers would return papers and tests without a verbal equivalent or any other tangible indication of performance aside from constructive feedback. Our school never selected a class valedictorian for senior graduation, and we couldn’t graduate with honors or any other form of distinction.

The spring junior paper (JP) is the first experience many students have with independent work while at the University. While the JP may be intended to function as a precursor to the eventual senior thesis, the lack of course credit for this work diminishes much of the value which the JP could potentially offer. Increasing the length of the JP, while also ensuring it counts for one course credit, would enable students to take three courses in their junior spring, hence letting them produce higher quality work for the paper.

Every student accused of an Honor Code violation is entitled to a Peer Representative to guide them through the process. Prior to this semester, many did not know of this right. Peer Representatives are aiming to change that.

Princeton field hockey (3–4), ranked sixth nationally last week, dropped two games at home this past weekend to No. 21 Rutgers (4–3) and No. 4 University of Connecticut (7–1). Both were close decisions, ending in a final score of 2–1.

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is a standardized test required for admission by most graduate and professional schools in the country. Last week, the University announced that 14 of its 42 graduate programs will no longer require the test.

Princeton women's volleyball (4–5) opens Ivy League conference play this Friday against the Penn Quakers (7–2). Last season, the Tigers swept the Quakers 3–0 in both matchups during the season. After taking second in the conference to Yale last year, the Tigers are looking to fight to get their Ivy League title back this season.

In an interview with NPR published on Sept. 23, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said that he “ha[s] made proposals” to return detained University graduate student Xiyue Wang to the United States, including a proposed prisoner exchange last September. Last month, the Trump Administration told CBS News that there are “no direct talks underway between the two countries, and they did not consider” a recent-at-the-time proposal from Zarif to swap prisoners to be serious.

At the first Council of the Princeton University Community (CPUC) meeting of the year, University Provost Deborah Prentice announced a change in CPUC procedure that will require students to submit questions for University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 in advance, rather than participate in the past “open question period” policy.

On Monday, Sept. 23, Robert Alter, an Emeritus Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Berkeley, discussed his recently published and widely lauded translation of the Hebrew Bible, as well as his new book, “The Art of Bible Translation,” at a talk co-hosted by the Religion and Judaic Studies departments. Alter addressed a packed room, as attendees stood in the entryway and sat in the aisles.

After a successful start to both the men’s and women’s cross country seasons at the Fordham Fiasco earlier in the month, the female Tigers continued to impress with a first-place finish at the Monmouth Invitational this past weekend. With seven women finishing in the top 10 overall and clocking an average time of 18:24 over 5,000 meters at Holmdel Park, a course notorious for its difficult hills, the orange and black ran away with the team title.

Women’s soccer (3—3—2 overall, 0—0 Ivy League) closed out their non-conference play on a high note, defeating the William and Mary Tribe (2—6—1) 1—0 on Sunday at home. The clean sweep by the Tigers earned senior goalkeeper Natalie Grossi her 29th career shutout, tying the all-time Ivy League record with former Dartmouth star Kristin Luckenbill. The team’s preseason record finished at 3—3—2 with losses to ranked opponents Georgetown (6—2—1), Boston College (7—1—1), and Maryland (5—3—2).

On Sept. 23, CNN chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta addressed a packed audience of young and old on campus. In a talk moderated by Julian Zelizer, the Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, Class of 1941 Professor of History and Public Affairs, Acosta discussed the importance of journalism in the modern era and reflected on his experiences reporting on the Trump administration.

The prospect of independent life can certainly be daunting. That was, at least to some degree, true for me. After having been on the required underclassman meal plan, I decided to join an eating club for my junior year. When I arrived in September for my last year at Princeton, I was returning an independent. What I have found so far has been a campus with so much more to offer and a living experience that gives me much more control over my eating options.